SPREAD DIVA LOVE

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Oh, The Complicated Dynamics of Sisters

Women have complicated relationships, don't we? And when that female relationship is of the sister variety, it's even more convoluted. We love our sisters, but we might not always like them. And yes, jealousy certainly creeps into the mix. One is brighter, one is more beautiful... If you have a sister, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about!

Hollywood siblings are not immune. Take Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine,
two of the brightest jewels of 1940s Hollywood. Both successful, Oscar-winning actresses--but also sisters who had a sibling rivalry that spanned decades.

The diverse and intense relationships between sisters is something that I find fascinating as an author, and I enjoy exploring it. But I wanted to do so in an even more complex way with my latest series. What if three sisters were abandoned by their mother at a young age, and while having to deal with that crushing reality, had to find their way in the world? What does that kind of experience to do a person? How does it affect their outlook on life and love?

In my HARTS IN LOVE series from Kimani Press, I dive into this complicated scenario. Unlike Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine, the siblings in my series do not have a feud that goes on for decades. But after ten years of not speaking to each other, the death of their beloved aunt--the woman who raised them--brings them back to Cleveland and forces them to reconnect.

Callie, the oldest of the siblings, has her story in ALWAYS IN MY HEART. She was eight when their mother left them with an aunt and promised to return soon, and she's the most jaded. She has tried to move on and forget her mother, a woman she believes never loved them, but she's definitely been scarred. Most notably, she doesn't know how to love. This--among other reasons--is why she leaves town without telling the man she loves that she had his child. Ten years later, she knows she must come clean.

Natalie, the baby of the family, always held out hope that her mother would return. She's the hopeless romantic, one who believed fiercely in fairytales. That belief sent her right into the arms of the wrong man, an NBA player who saw her as only a trophy wife and didn't believe in fidelity. In SURRENDER MY HEART, Natalie learns through the media that she has been divorced. She swears off men--especially professional athletes. But once she puts her time toward a charity fundraiser, she's paired with an oh-so-sexy NFL player who will be working with her for the event. Michael knows what he wants, and he pursues her relentlessly. And suddenly, Natalie starts to wonder if there's a chance for a happily ever after for her after all.

Deanna is the middle child. She and Natalie were the most at odds after Natalie slept with her boyfriend when they were teens. So Deanna ran far from Cleveland--to Hollywood to pursue her dreams of a music career--and to escape the heartache and her sister. She's confused when it comes to love, always choosing the wrong guy or pushing nice guys away. When she ran to Hollywood, she also left Eric Bell in her rearview mirror, the brother of her cheating boyfriend, but a guy who had always been a confidante. Now, Eric is the principal at her nephew's new school. In HEART TO HEART, Eric enlists her to work on the school's musical as a vocal coach, something Deanna agrees to do, now that her music career has come to a devastating end because of--yes--another guy who wasn't right for her. Now, working at the school, Deanna is suddenly seeing Eric in a whole new light. But Eric has always been the nice guy--and don't nice guys finish last? Deanna never saw him as anything more than a friend before, and with a crazy ex still after her, she's not really thinking of love now. Even when it's at her door, she doesn't quite know how to accept it. And then her life is threatened...

I loved creating this series and the Hart sisters! Through love and loss, they come together and discover that the bond of sisterhood is one not easily broken. And throughout the three books, the 23 year old mystery of what happened to their mother is slowly revealed...ending in the revelation of a dark, family secret.

I hope you'll check out the HARTS IN LOVE series, now that all 3 books are available. ALWAYS IN MY HEART is a May 2012 release, SURRENDER MY HEART is a June 2012 release, and HEART TO HEART is a July 2012 release. The books are available in print and e-book!